The present invention relates to an absorptive article such as a sanitary napkin, a pantiliner, an incontinence pad and the like for absorbing menstrual blood, vaginal discharge and the like, or more particularly to an absorptive article which fits the shape and movement of a body, eliminates wrinkles and is more comfortable to wear.
Known absorptive articles, such as a sanitary napkin, a pantiliner, an incontinence pad and the like, include those interposing an absorptive element containing an absorbing body made of a cotton-state pulp between an impermeable back-surface sheet such as a polyethylene sheet, a polyethylene laminate unwoven cloth or the like and a permeable front-surface sheet such as a nonwoven cloth, a permeable plastic sheet or the like.
Various improvements have been made for this type of absorptive article, and in order to improve comfort of wear and fit, those provided with an emboss having a predetermined shape from the front surface side of the permeable front-surface sheet are known.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-82480 discloses, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a sanitary napkin 50 in which a front-surface sheet 51, an absorbing core 52, and a back-surface sheet 53 are laminated in this order. A first emboss 54 forming a line going in the front-and-rear direction is provided on both sides of a center portion in the front-and-rear direction of the absorbing core 52 from above the front-surface sheet 51, and a second emboss 55 forming a straight line starting from the center portion in the width direction as a base end and extending outwardly to both sides in the front-and-rear direction, respectively, from this base end is provided on at least one of a front end portion and a rear end portion of the absorbing core 52 from above the front-surface sheet 51. According to the sanitary napkin 50 as above, if a pressure P going inward from the both sides in the width direction is applied when the sanitary napkin is being worn, upper layer portions of the front-surface sheet 51 and the absorbing core 52 are brought closer to a center line C in the width direction (direction indicated by reference character F) from the second emboss 55. As a result, particularly at least the surface shape of a center portion T in the width direction on the end portion in the front-and-rear direction of the sanitary napkin 50 protrudes to the wearer side, and the fitting performance for the wearer is considered to be improved.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-195665 discloses an absorptive article 60, as illustrated in FIG. 6, in which left and right grooves 61 and 62 are separated from both a front groove 63 and a rear groove 64, and front end portions 61A and 62A of the left and right grooves are located closer to the front in the longitudinal direction than a rear end portion 63A of the front groove, while rear end portions 61B and 62B of the left and right grooves are located closer to the back in the longitudinal direction than a front end portion 64A of the rear groove. According to such absorptive article 60, if an area surrounded by the left and right grooves 61 and 62 is subjected to a compression force inwardly in the width direction from right and left when the absorptive article is being worn, the article is stably raised toward the wearer by forming a substantially V-shaped folding line 65 formed of lines virtually extended from the left and right grooves 61 and 62 to the front end portion and a substantially V-shaped folding line 66 formed of lines virtually extended from the left and right grooves 61 and 62 to the rear end portion as flexible axes, thus fitting the excretion portion of the wearer.